Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Honda App Links Feedback on Drivers to Insurance Carriers via Verisk
Aug 11 2020 // Honda Motor Co. is offering an app that scores the safety of car owners’ driving habits and links with insurance carriers that can offer discounts to drivers who are deemed a good risk. The Driver Feedback app is...
California Judge Blocks Uber, Lyft From Classifying Drivers as Contractors
Aug 10 2020 // A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The...
North Carolina Study: Black Drivers Twice as Likely to be Stopped by Police
Aug 10 2020 // A state study shows that Black drivers in North Carolina are stopped by police at more than twice the rate of white drivers. The Raleigh News & Observer reported Wednesday that roughly 25 out of 100 Black drivers were...
Progressive Q2 Profit Up on Fewer Accidents; CEO Says ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Vows Action
Aug 10 2020 // “Black Lives Matter to me and they matter to us as an organization,” Progressive Corp. CEO Tricia Griffith wrote in a letter to shareholders. In the letter that was mostly commentary on second quarter results,...
Judge May Not Grant Injunction Forcing Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees
Aug 7 2020 // A California judge signaled on Thursday he might be leaning against a request for a preliminary injunction forcing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. to classify drivers as employees rather than contractors. In a hearing...
‘Defensive Dining’: Keeping Makeshift Outdoor Eateries Safe From Storms, Drivers
Aug 5 2020 // Outdoor spaces hastily fancified for low-risk dining are keeping thousands of U.S. restaurants from closing permanently. But crashing the dinner party are tropical storms, rats — and the occasional out-of-control...
Pennsylvania Extends Grace Period for Expiring Driver Licenses
Jul 31 2020 // Pennsylvania reported more than 800 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, as continuing concern about the virus prompted a new grace period for drivers with expiring licenses. The state Department of Transportation...
Insurance Premium Relief Programs Have Saved Oklahoma Drivers over $164M
Jul 30 2020 // Refunds, dividends, credits, or other appropriate premium adjustments automobile insurance companies have offered to their customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic have saved Oklahoma drivers $164 million, the state...
Michigan Drivers Got Nearly $95M in Premium Refunds in April, May, June
Jul 29 2020 // Michigan motorists are being refunded nearly $95 million in car insurance premiums due to a drop in driving and crash claims during the coronavirus pandemic, regulators said. The amount paid back varies by insurer. It...
Suspected Drunken Driver Lands Inside Apartment in Grand Forks, N.D.
Jul 28 2020 // A suspected drunken driver crashed into a Grand Forks, N.D., apartment building, punching a hole in the wall of a first-floor apartment bedroom and landing in the kitchen. The tenants fortunately were not home at the time...
Average Age of Cars Americans Are Driving Nears 12 Years: IHS Markit
Jul 28 2020 // Americans are hanging on to their cars and trucks longer, pushing the average age of vehicles on the road to the highest level in nearly 20 years even before the coronavirus hit, according to new data from IHS Markit...
North Carolina Road Test Waived for Adult Drivers License Applicants
Jul 23 2020 // Road tests still aren’t being performed by examiners from the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles due to COVID-19. So now certain adults are exempt from passing one to obtain a regular license. The DMV...
Profit-Driven Automakers Race to Next Level of Not Quite Self-Driving Cars
Jul 15 2020 // Autopilot, ProPilot, CoPilot: Automakers have many names for new systems that allow for hands-free driving, but no safety or performance standards to follow as they roll out the most significant changes to vehicle...
Massachusetts Sues Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees
Jul 15 2020 // Massachusetts on Tuesday followed California in suing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. over allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees entitled to extensive benefits. The...
Updated Minnesota Driver’s Manual Provides Guidance for Legal Gun Owners
Jul 8 2020 // Minnesota public safety officials updated the state’s driver’s manual to give motorists who are legally carrying firearms some guidance on what to do if they are stopped by police, including instructions to...
Car Crashes Became Deadlier During Lockdowns Across Globe
Jul 6 2020 // Coronavirus lockdowns led to reductions in traffic and fewer car crashes this spring, but as drivers sped up on quieter roads, the collisions became deadlier in several cities, a Reuters analysis shows. In New York City,...
California Insurance Department Says Premium Relief Has Saved Drivers $1.2B
Jul 6 2020 // California automobile insurance companies have agreed to provide $1.21 billion in savings to drivers, the state insurance department says. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in May issued an order requiring insurers to...
New Indiana State Law Bans Use of Handheld Phone While Driving
Jul 2 2020 // Using a handheld cellphone while driving is now illegal on Indiana roads under a new state law that took effect this week. The move aimed at combating distracted driving went onto the books on July 1 after being approved...
TuSimple Launches Self-Driving Truck Network with Berkshire’s McLane, UPS
Jul 2 2020 // U.S. technology company TuSimple on Wednesday launched a self-driving freight network with UPS and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. supply chain unit McLane that it said should operate nationwide by 2024 and start running some...
Cellphone While Driving Ban Goes into Effect in Idaho
Jun 30 2020 // Effective July 1 using a handheld phone while operating a moving motor vehicle in Idaho is prohibited. Idaho drivers will receive warnings until Jan. 1, 2021. The American Property Casualty Insurance Association is...
